72 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
July  24,  1902. 
Basil,  the  pathos  of  the  faded  Rose  and  Forget-me-not  has 
often  been  dwelt  on  in  story  and  song,  and'  yet’  we  will 
venture  to  assert  that  the  useful,  prosaic  Onion,  the  bulb  of  the 
many  tunics,  has  been  the  innocent  cause  of  more  tears  than 
any  other  plant  that  ever  was.  What  a  mighty  host  there  would 
be  could  all  the  busy  housewives  and  industrious  serving-maids 
who  have  wept  silent  tears  as  they  shredded  those  concentric 
coats  of  fleshy  tissue,  slicing  up  an  Ailsa  Craig  or  a  Bedford¬ 
shire.  Champion  even  to  the  central  axis,  be  collected  in  one 
place. 
It  is  only  to  be  expected  that  a  plant  so  universally  grown 
should  not  be  exceedingly  difficult  to  cultivate,  though  to  get 
it  to  perfection  a  certain  amount  of  care  is  necessary.  It  delights 
in  a  rich,  deeply-worked  soil  of  a.  somewhat  retentive  nature,  one 
not  by  any  means  as  strong  as  the  flavour  of  the  Onions  them¬ 
selves,  but  not  too  light  and  sandy,  or  the  yield  will  not  be  so 
heavy.  To  trench  and  throw  up  the  soil  in  ridges  the  previous 
autumn,  levelling  it  down  and  breaking  up  with  a  fork  before 
sowing,  is  the  best  method  of  preparation,  and  a  sowing  may  be 
made  early  in  March  if  the  ground  is  in  good  condition.  It  is 
important  that  the  soil  should  be  sufficiently  dry,  as  the  bed 
should  be  rolled  or  trodden  firmly  all  over,  and^  if  sticky,  a  quite 
unnecessary  amount  of  soil  will  be  moved,  and  hobnailed  boots 
are  not  the  most  recently  devised  implements  for  altering  the 
site  of  a  kitchen  garden.  Treading  is  preferable  to  rolling  if 
time  can  be  spared,  as  the  ground  is  thus  better  consolidated, 
and  here,  if  nowhere  else,  he  who  takes  a  small  size  in  foot-gear 
is  at  a  disadvantage. 
We  recollect,  in  a  certain  private  garden,  an  old  labourer 
whose  pedal  extremities  were,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  not  less  than 
normal  in  area.  The  youngsters  sarcastically  nicknamed  him 
“  Cinderella,”  and  used  derisively  to  ask  him  if  he  would  like  the 
walks  made  wider,  and  why  he  didn’t  set  up  business  as  a  steam¬ 
roller;  but  the  old  chap  was  good  natured,  and  only  laughed. 
But  when  the  spring  came  round  and  it  was  time  to  tread  the 
Onion  bed,  “  Cinderella  ”  tied  up  his  trousers  below  the  knees, 
took  on  an  air  of  importance,  and  began  to  be  mighty  in  the 
land.  Well,  he  knew  that  no  one  could  touch  him  at  that  job, 
for  he  was  a  host  in  himself,  and  if  Onions  required  a  firm  root 
run,  a  firm  root  run  they  should  have,  or  he  would  know  the 
reason  why.  With  a.  well  consolidated  soil,  the  bulbs  are  of  a 
more  compact  habit,  less  leafy  growth  takes  place,  and  the  necks 
are  thinner,  and  to  possess  a  neck  long  and  slender,  fit  to  wear 
the  tallest  of  aristocratic  collars,  should  be  the  ambition  of  every 
high  bred  Onion. 
Spring  sown  Onions  should  be  put  in  in  drills  about  1ft  apart, 
and  Jin  to  Jin  deep,  though  market  growers  often  find  it  more 
profitable  to  sow  them  broadcast  with  other  crops,  such  as 
Lettuce  or  Radishes,  which,  of  course,  are  off  the  ground  before 
the  Onions  are  very  large.  As  soon  as  the  plants  can  be  con¬ 
veniently  handled  they  should  be  gone  over  and  thinned,  and 
later,  the  product  of  a  second  thinning,  which  will  leave  them 
6in  or  7in  apart,  can  be  used  for  salading.  The  Dutch  hoe  or 
scuffle  may  be  kept  busy  between  the  rows,  especially  in  dry 
weather,  for  weeds  on  an  Onion  bed  are  vegetation  distinctly  in 
the  wrong  place,  and,  like  the  wicked,  should  have  no  peace. 
Only  the  surface  should  be  disturbed,  however,  as  it  is  essential 
that  the  bed  should  remain  solid. 
An  occasional  dressing  of  nitrogenous  or  phosphatic  manure, 
or  soot,  or  a  mixture  of  all  three  (sulphate,  superphosphate,  and 
sootiate,  we  heard  a  gardener  call  it  once)  is  very  beneficial  in 
stimulating  the  growth  and  increasing  the  weight  of  the  crop. 
When  the  bulbs  are  ripe,  which  is  indicated  by  the  leaves 
turning  yellow,  they  should  be  pulled  up  and  laid  out  with  their 
base3  toward  the  sun,  so  that  they  will  thoroughly  dry  before 
storing.  They  may  be  stored  in  any  cool,  dry  place,  either  hung 
in  bunches  or  covered  over  with  straw,  and  if  properly  ripened  a 
little  frost  will  not  harm  them. 
Onions  may  be  sown  in  autumn,  in  August  or  early  in  Sep¬ 
tember,  for  pulling  for  salading  in  spring,  or  for  transplanting 
about  April  and  growing  on.  Autumn-sown  Onions,  thus  trans¬ 
planted,  with  the  roots  preserved  as  much  as  possible,  grow  to 
a  large  size,  and  it  is  thus  that  those  Goliaths  of  the  bulbous 
world,  of  portly  presence  and  imposing  aspect,  which  cannot  be 
sold  by  the  pound,  are  obtained.  The  growing  season  may  also 
be  lengthened  by  sowing  the  seed  in  pans  or  boxes,  and  placing 
in  heat  in  the  beginning  of  the  year,  gradually  hardening  off  in 
a  frame,  and  planting  outdoors  in  April.  Onions  thus  treated 
will  be  larger  than  if  sown  outdoors,  and,  being  forwarder,  will 
be  less  liable  to  fall  a  prey  to  insects,  though  the  method  is  too 
expensive  to  be  carried  out  on  a  large  scale. 
Unfortunately  the  Onion  has  another  ardent  admirer,  whose 
persistent  attentions  are  by  no  means  appreciated  by  gardeners 
generally,  namely,  Anthomyia  Ceparum,  commonly  known  as 
the  Onion  fly.  This  obnoxious  little  insect  is  the  bane  of  many 
Onion  growers,  its  capacity  for  mischief  when  allowed  to  carry 
on  its  depredations  in  peace  is  remarkable,  and  continued 
vigilance  is  often  necessary  to  circumvent  it. 
By  keeping  a  careful  watch,  and  adopting  preventive  measures 
in  time,  it  can,  however,  be  generally  kept  under,  and  no  one 
need  despair  of  raising  a  crop  of  Onions  in  spite  of 
it.  Perhaps  no  grower  ever  did  actually  decide  not  to 
attempt  the  culture  of  this  plant  because  in  doubt  as 
to  how  much  of  his  crop  Anthomyia  Ceparum  might  be  disposed 
to  leave  him,  though  we  once  met  an  agricultural  student  who 
was  convinced  that  Turnip  growing  could  never  end  in  anything 
but  failure.  He  had  taken  copious  notes  of  a  lecture  on  Turnips, 
and  on  reading  over  what  he  had  written  on  the  enemies,  ento¬ 
mological,  fungoid,  and  parasitic,  to  whose  attacks  they  were 
liable,  he  found  it  ran  somewhat  in  this  fashion  :  “  Turnip  Fly. 
Only  prevention :  sow  the  crop  early  and  hurry  on.  Turnip 
Moth.  Only  prevention:  sow  the  crop  late  and  keep  back.” 
And  the  poor  fellow  scratched  his  head  and  knit  his  brows,  and 
speculated  as  to  how  on  earth  he  was  ever  to  get  a  crop  of 
Turnips  at  all. 
The  insect  in  its  perfect  form  is  a  small  fly  about  Jin  in  length, 
the  male  being  of  a  blackish-grey  colour,  and  the  female  having  a 
yellowish  tinge.  It  deposits  its  eggs  about  April  or  May  in  the 
axils  of  the  leaves  or  on  the  soil  close  to  the  Onion,  and  when 
these  hatch  out  the  larvae  make  their  way  to  the  base  of  the 
bulb,  and  gnaw  into  the  interior,  where  they  take  up  their  un¬ 
desirable  residence,  obtaining  food  and  accommodation  free  of 
charge,  but  at  considerable  cost  to  the  Onion-grower,  whose  con¬ 
sent  to  the  arrangement  is  never  asked.  Its  presence  is  indi¬ 
cated  by  the  leaves  turning  yellow  and  flagging,  for  it  makes 
itself  so  much  at  home  that  the  bulb  begins  to  go  rotten.  After 
about  fourteen  days,  having  eaten  its  fill,  the  larvae  leave  the 
Onion,  and,  entering  the  ground,  develop  into  the  pupal  stage. 
If  they  enter  this  stage  in  the  autumn  they  hibernate  until  the 
following  spring,  but  if  in  the  summer,  they  emerge  perfect 
insects  in  two  to  three  weeks  time,  to  deposit  more  eggs  to  hatch 
into  more  maggots  and  devour  more  Onions. 
But  though  destructive  enough,  there  are  remedies  against  it 
nearly  as  numerous  as  the  patent  medicines  we  may  read  of  in 
advertisements,  and  some  of  them  possibly  much  more  effective 
than  those  medicines,  and,  what  is  better,  there  are  various 
preventive  measures  which  can  be  adopted.  One  of  these  is  to 
dig  the  top  soil  in  after  a  crop  of  Onions,  thus  burying  the  pupae, 
and  to  destroy  any  old  bulbs  left  on  the  ground  after  the  crop 
is  cleared.  Wood  ashes  placed  in  the  drills  before  sowing  will 
also  be  of  use  in  keeping  the  insects  away,  and  if  a  few  plants 
show  signs  of  turning  yellow  they  should  be  immediately  pulled 
up  and  burnt. 
Several  means  are  recommended  to  destroy  or  drive  off  the 
insects  when  they  make  their  appearance.  Soot  is  a  useful  insecti¬ 
cide,  dusted  over  the  plants  when  moist  with  dew,  and  the 
Onion  fly  has  an  equally  strong  aversion  to  salt,  in  which  he 
differs  from  the  caterpillars  which  are  said  to  have  attacked  an 
old  farmer’s  Lettuce  plants.  The  worthy  man  was  recommended 
to  try  both  soot  and  salt,  and  he  declared  that  while  the  cater¬ 
pillars  cared  nothing  for  the  soot,  when  he  applied  the  salt  they 
simply  picked  the  leaves,  dipped  them  in  it,  and  ate  them  with 
the  more  relish.  Paraffin  is  useful  mixed  writh  water,  or  sand 
may  be  soaked  in  it  and  sown  along  the  rows ;  lime  mixed  with 
soot  is  effective,  either  dissolved  in  water  or  sprinkled  over  the 
leaves  at  intervals  of  ten  to  fourteen  days.  Soapsuds  have  also 
been  highly  recommended.  Tims  there  is  no  lack  of  remedies,  and 
if  after  being  choked  with  soot,  pickled  in  salt,  oiled  with  paraffin, 
and  scorched  with  lime,  they  laugh  wood  ashes  to  scorn,  and 
cannot  be  cleansed  out  of  existence  with  soapsuds,  some  heroic 
individual  has  advocated  the  use  of  sulphuric  acid  as  a  last 
resource.  Apply  this  with  sufficient  liberality  and  specimens  of 
Onion  fly  will  be  scarce  in  that  neighbourhood,  and  feo,  very 
possibly,  will  Onions. — A.  W.  D. 
